Abstract
A 62-year-old man had an acute episode of hypertension 72 h after fine needle aspiration biopsy of an intra- hepatic nodule. The patient had been operated 3 years previously for a right adrenal phaeochromocytoma with no evidence of metastases at that time. Thus, a relapse of the tumour was postulated and confirmed by raised levels of urinary metanephrines. The extent of the metastases precluded surgical intervention and thus localised embolisation was proposed and permitted a clinical stabilisation over 8 months. This case indicates the necessity of long-term post-operative follow-up of phaeochromocytoma as well as the dangers of fine needle aspiration biopsy of metastases from this kind of tumour. Treatment of malignant phaeochromocytoma is difficult and embolisation was a useful therapeutic alternative in this case where the metastases were well defined.
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Baguet, J., Hammer, L., Tremel, F. et al. Metastatic phaeochromocytoma: risks of diagnostic needle puncture and treatment by arterial embolisation. J Hum Hypertens 15, 209–211 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1001151
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1001151
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